Why it matters
- Asian stocks were mixed on Monday, Oct. 19. Lingering worries about AI spending weighed on tech shares in Tokyo and Taipei, while bargain hunting lifted Seoul, Trading Economics said. The Kospi rose 1.76% to 5,768.01 and the Nikkei 225 fell 0.62% to 64,916.70, Yahoo Finance data showed.
- China's economy grew 4.5% from a year earlier in the third quarter, up from 4.3% in the second quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics said. Trading Economics said that beat the 4.4% forecast. The Shanghai Composite rose 0.39%.
- Hong Kong's markets were closed for a holiday, HKEX said. India's Sensex fell 1.17% as bank earnings disappointed, while Australia's ASX 200 rose 0.44% to a more than five-week high.
Session recap: what happened in this region's trading day, with sources.
Asian stocks were mixed on Monday, Oct. 19, as lingering worries over whether heavy AI spending will pay off weighed on technology shares in Tokyo and Taipei, while bargain hunting lifted Seoul and stronger-than-expected Chinese growth supported other markets, Trading Economics said. South Korea's Kospi rose 1.76% to 5,768.01 and Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.62% to 64,916.70, according to Yahoo Finance data.
| Market | Monday close | Change vs. Friday |
|---|---|---|
| Nikkei 225 (Japan) | 64,916.70 | −0.62% |
| Kospi (South Korea) | 5,768.01 | +1.76% |
| Taiex (Taiwan) | 46,822.08 | −0.61% |
| Shanghai Composite (China) | 3,730.92 | +0.39% |
| Shenzhen Component (China) | 11,817.42 | +0.13% |
| CSI 300 (China) | 4,174.53 | +0.09%* |
| S&P/ASX 200 (Australia) | 8,845.70 | +0.44% |
| Sensex (India) | 73,852.90 | −1.17% |
| Nifty 50 (India) | 22,888.95 | −1.11% |
| Hang Seng (Hong Kong) | Closed | — |
Source: Yahoo Finance daily chart data. Changes are from Friday, Oct. 16, closes. \Yahoo Finance's daily data did not include a Friday bar for the CSI 300; its change is as reported by Trading Economics. Hong Kong's markets were closed on Oct. 19 and reopen Oct. 20, HKEX said.*
Why did Asian stocks move today?
Tech shares stayed under pressure on concerns that massive spending on AI infrastructure may not deliver adequate returns, Trading Economics said, though selling eased as U.S. stock futures rebounded after Friday's steep losses on Wall Street; see our Americas Friday recap. The Nikkei fell as much as 2.2% to a one-month low below 64,000 during the session before paring losses, it said.
In Tokyo, Lasertec fell 3.9%, Tokyo Electron 2.6% and SoftBank Group 2%, while Inpex rose 3.2%, Trading Economics reported. The yen was at about 158.35 per dollar around 12:55 GMT, Yahoo Finance data showed.
Why did the Kospi rise?
Institutional investors bought a net 574.66 billion won of shares, partly offsetting selling by foreign and retail investors, and bargain hunting in large caps supported the index, Trading Economics said. Samsung Biologics jumped 8.71%, LG Energy Solution 6.70% and Hyundai Motor 4.33%, while Samsung Electronics rose 1.16% and SK hynix 0.16%. Worries over AI valuations, Chinese competition in memory chips and attacks on ships in the Persian Gulf kept gains in check, it added.
What did China's GDP data show?
China's economy grew 4.5% year on year in the third quarter and 1.2% from the second quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics said, and 4.6% in the first nine months. September industrial output rose 5.5%, retail sales rose 1.1% and fixed-asset investment fell 7.2% in the first nine months, it said.
Mainland stocks edged higher. Agricultural Bank of China and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China were among gainers, Trading Economics said.
How did Taiwan, Australia and India trade?
The Taiex fell 0.61% to its lowest level since Sept. 17, with TSMC down 1.0% and Hon Hai Precision 2.1%, Trading Economics said. Easing oil prices and China's GDP beat limited losses, it said.
Australia's ASX 200 rose to its highest in more than five weeks, Trading Economics said. The big four banks rose 0.7% to 1.5%, and Challenger jumped 19.3% after a reported takeover approach from TAL Dai-ichi Life.
India's Sensex fell 876.37 points, ending a two-day winning streak, as investors weighed corporate earnings and high crude prices, Trading Economics said. Axis Bank fell about 4% after its results missed expectations, and HDFC Bank fell about 2.3%.
What comes next?
Europe's session is in our Europe Monday recap, U.S. futures and this week's calendar are in our day-ahead guide, and live levels are on the markets page. Friday's session is in our Asia Friday recap.
Follow the rest of the trading day on our global market today page, with the latest Asia, Europe and Americas session recaps.
Sources
- National Bureau of Statistics of China, National economy in the first three quarters of 2026 (Oct. 19, 2026)
- Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, Trading hours: securities market
- Trading Economics, Japan stock market (Nikkei 225)
- Trading Economics, South Korea stock market (Kospi)
- Trading Economics, China stock market and China GDP growth
- Trading Economics, Taiwan stock market (Taiex)
- Trading Economics, Australia stock market (ASX 200)
- Trading Economics, India stock market (Sensex)
- Yahoo Finance, chart data for the Nikkei 225, Kospi, Taiex, Shanghai Composite, Shenzhen Component, CSI 300, S&P/ASX 200, Sensex, Nifty 50 and USD/JPY